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Topic
One of policing's most contested powers, and what the evidence says about it.
4 articles · All topics →
Procedural justice is one of policing's strongest routes to legitimacy: give people voice, make neutral decisions, show respect and explain trustworthy motives. The evidence supports the approach, but leaders should be precise about what it has — and has not — been shown to change.
BBC Radio 4's More or Less is useful professional development for anyone working with police data. Five habits matter most: check the denominator, definition, comparison, causal claim and your own instinct to believe the number.
Police statistics are easy to quote and easy to misread. Start with the numerator, denominator, definition and comparator — then ask what the data can actually establish. Stop and search shows why the method matters.
Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police in 1829, but the nine 'Peelian principles' were not written by him. What the history actually supports — and why policing by consent remains a useful test of legitimacy.
